Phenols are a class of chemical compounds having a hydroxyl group directly bonded to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. Phenolates are the anionic salts of phenols in which a proton has been removed from the hydroxyl group of the phenol. A wide variety of phenolics, as compounds that contain a phenol group are called, are known. Some phenolics are produced by plants in nature and others have been synthetically designed for a variety of chemical uses.
One class of phenolics are 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzotriazoles or benzotriazole phenols. Benzotriazole phenols are an important class of UV absorbers, and in some cases, can absorb in the visible range as well. These compounds are often used as additives in materials and can even be incorporated into the polymeric structures via a polymerizable substituent on the benzotriazole phenol structure.
In addition to the usefulness of the benzotriazole phenols themselves, the benzotriazole phenols can also be used as synthons to form benzotriazole phenolate salts that are also useful. For example in EP Patent Publication No. 351,732, the use of a variety of benzotriazole phenolate salts are used as the essential ingredient to give high crystallization rates in polyester polymer compositions.
The need remains for substituted benzotriazole phenolate salts.